The Caves of Luminescence

Eris led me out the door into the forest. We walked in silence, the twittering of the birds above and our dueling footsteps being the only sounds made as we followed the lone path there deeper into the trees. Finally, I broke through the veil of quietness and said, "Where are we going, Eris?"

"Patience, my curious child," was her response. "You shall see in due time."

"Don't call me your child," I snapped. I hate that - Eris is practically a stranger to me. And I was feeling particularly snippy at the time. Well, more snippy than normal.

"Ah, but all of those who wish to know are my children." We passed under a rocky overhang, cool wind blowing in my face as we walked through the shadows. "You are no different."

I forged on. "What happened back there? In the kitchen? I heard a voice... your voice, telling... no, forcing me to say yes to your request."

"Request? Who says it was a request?" Before I could answer, she continued, "You were being disobedient. I care not about what you do, about who you anger, as long as you follow my orders and never question me about them."

"You have no right to give me orders."

"Yes I do, child. You will learn that soon. Remember that day, long ago, when you first met me? I told you that you would have to make a choice eventually. The Decision Point. You've almost reached it."

"What will I have to decide? Or can you not tell me that?" I asked impatiently.

Eris was silent for a moment. We turned around a corner and stopped in front of a gaping cave entrance, the inside of it dipped in darkness.

Finally, she spoke: "I shall tell you that shortly. But first, some explanations. Follow me."

I chose to obey - though I didn't really have a choice - and plunged myself in the darkness along with Eris. We continued walking - I don't know for how long - and eventually we came across multicolored lights, coming from the infrequently appearing crystals in the walls.

Eris began to speak once more. "A very long time ago, I was not like I am right now. I was the single ruler of a single domain. I knew things, things that normal humans should not know. But I am not a normal human. I saw farther than previously thought possible. Past horizons and into the great unknown. I gathered followers by making deals with them. In exchange for knowing what I did, they would serve me, spreading chaos and disorder while still following my rules. I inspired the myths of Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, and from that, Discordianism. My followers were called Seers, and they did their job well. They caused fire in their wake, recruited more people into their numbers, and used up every last bit of their power until they simply exploded from overexertion. And yet, despite this, they were loyal. They did everything I said because I was their master and I gave them the gift of knowledge and power beyond power. Nobody knew me by my real name, Eris. Instead, I was the Flickering Woman. And I ruled over a domain called the Caves of Luminescence."

We stepped into a clearing in the cave, one that had many tunnels expanding from it and walls covered in glowing, luminescent crystals.

"We are in that domain. And yet, it is but a shade of what it used to be. It is but a memory. And yet, memories can be as strong as things happening in the present day. Especially when you see them again and again. The only use for the Caves is transporting me to and from places. There used to be a throne of crystal here, until it was destroyed by the brute, my husband." I had a feeling she wasn't talking about Father. "More than that, my Seers used the tunnels as well. Now they are all gone, and I am alone. More than that. I believe my husband has learned his lesson. I wish to free him from his chains, but he is much too old. I need to bring back the old ways. I need replacements, need followers again. And that's where you come in."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you. You will have to decide if you want to come with me and know all there is to know... or burn.

"Decide, Misery. My husband is waiting."

Eris held out her right hand, and I saw the ring on it - the one studded with coal, the one from my dreams.

Eris backed up and faded away in the cloud of smoke that was billowing behind her.

The silence was filled by a chattering noise. It grew louder and louder, echoing off of the cave walls around me, until the noise broke into voices, too many of them to count. The voices were all saying the same thing: "Boiling, brewing, rising disarray. Watch out everybody, a storm's on its way."

I then woke up on the grass in a clearing in the forest, smoke spiraling off of my skin into the too-bright sky.